CANCUN — Due to extortions ranging from $50 to $100 dollars and the increasing insecurity of various regions in the country, some tourists have decided not to visit Mexican beaches this season.
Because of insecurity in Cancun, some Canadian students chose to cancel their arrival to the Mexican Caribbean and preferred to vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, said Carlos Gosselin Maurel, president of the Hotels Association of the destination.
Canada Spring Breakers represent about 8% of youth tourism at the destination (Photo: STA Travel)
From the last week of February until the end of this month, Cancun was expecting the arrival of 35,000 spring breakers.
Last year, Cancun received 40,000 spring breakers, of whom 34,000 were from US cities such as Dallas, Texas, New York and Philadelphia; 8 percent from Ontario and Quebec, Canada; 3 percent form Brazil; 2 percent from Colombia, and 1 percent from Spain and Argentina.
Gosselin Maurel acknowledged that this year the destination will not reach 30,000 spring breakers, since not only the Canadian, but also the American segment are decreasing their visits.
Youth tourism has an average expenditure of $50 to $80 dollars a day during a four-day stay and vacation packages with costs up to $1,200 dollars with aircraft included.
It is worth mentioning that the municipal authorities began distributing the codes of conduct to be followed by American students during their stay, “with the aim that young people can have fun, but with good behavior.”
EXTORTIONS
In addition to this, the hotel leader announced that they also have knowledge of 15 complaints of extortion towards the spring breakers.
He said that they will demand formal actions of the government of Quintana Roo to ensure the safety of tourists, since this issue is a sensitive one. The extortions range from $50 to $100 dollars per tourist.
Gosselin Maurel stressed that although many hoteliers disagree with this market, because it does not produce enough economic impact and becomes a seedbed for the sale of drugs and alcohol, they will hold meetings with promoters and sellers of student packages to have a consensus of what Spring Break represents for the tourism sector.
Source: elfinanciero.com.mx
